The invention relates to a coupling for removably connecting a conduit for cleaning liquid to a conduit in an automatic device for distributing a liquid or semi-liquid food product, which coupling comprises a first male connection piece with a body provided with a passage to which the conduit connects and a female connection piece formed by a recipient which is opened at one end, removably connecting with its open end in a leak-proof way to the body of the male connection piece but surrounding with its closed end, with an interval, an extremity of the body of the male connection piece on which the passage in this connection piece gives, while the recipient is provided in its wall and laterally with respect to the passage through the body, with an opening for connecting the cleaning conduit, which opening gives on said interval.
Such couplings can be used with automatic devices for distributing soft-ice and the like. During normal operation the male connection piece is connected to a reservoir containing a liquid composition to connect the automatic device conduit to the reservoir. The composition is pumped from the reservoir, eventually whipped with air and cooled in a cooling element.
A coupling of this kind is disclosed in CH-A-400.047. The body of the male connection piece is formed by the dispensing tube of a whipped cream dispenser, the lower end of which tube is always open. Additional food products possibly contained in the tube can drop down when the dispensing tube, removed from the dispenser body, is brought to the female connection piece. While the dispensing tube in a whipped cream dispenser cannot contain large quantities of food product and can easily be emptied before the dispensing tube is removed from the dispenser body. In soft-ice distributing devices and the like large quantities of food product are present in the conduit connected to the male connecting piece. Dropping of the food product will dirty the inside of the distributing device. This can be partly avoided by holding a container under the male connection piece when transporting it from the reservoir containing the liquid composition towards the female connection piece, but that complicates the cleaning.
A coupling comprising anon-return valve in one of the connection pieces is known as such from EP-A-270.302. However this coupling is not for connecting to a conduit for cleaning liquid and non of the connection pieces is a recipient surrounding the other connection piece. The cleaning of the outside of the connection piece which services to be introduced in a reservoir with a liquid food composition is not possible.